Passports torn by airport authorities at Chengdu airport belonging to Tibetans who returned after attending the Kalachakra teaching in Jan. 2017. Phayul photo/file

DHARAMSHALA, Jan. 24: Chinese authorities in occupied Tibet’s Sichaun province have issued order for Tibetan pilgrims in India and Nepal to return to Tibet immediately or face consequences.

The official order is primarily targeted towards Tibetan pilgrims who are in Bodh Gaya, India attending teachings given by the exiled Tibetan leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama vilified by China as a “separatist”.

Exile Tibetan government’s (Central Tibetan Administration) EU/UN and HR Desk reported that, “those who have been called back were largely Tibetans from Kham and Amdo regions that are incorporated into China’s Sichuan Province.” The report further assessed that more than two thousand Tibetans, including many elderly, from Tibet have arrived in Bodh Gaya, to attend teachings given by the Dalai Lama since January 5.

“Chinese authorities have summoned Tibetans back to Tibet midway of the teachings despite issuing them Chinese passports quite recently,” the report read.

Radio Free Asia reported that Tawu, Dranggo and Lithang, all in the eastern Tibet’s Sichuan province has received the order for pilgrims from the region who are in India and Nepal. “At the beginning of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings there were about 2600 Tibetans, but after the Chinese recall, the pilgrims have started to leave, and now only around 200 Tibetans pilgrims remain,” RFA quoted an official from CTA as saying.

In January 2017, after the Kalachakra teachings in India, Phayul was notified by sources in Nepal that returning Tibetans were subjected to aggressive measures by Chinese authorities. Many had their passports torn by scissors on arrival by Chinese authorities besides other punitive measures.